A wicked problem defies any standard attempt to find a solution
“Wicked problems” is a phrase first coined by Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber, theorists of design and social planning respectively, at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1973.
A wicked problem defies any standard attempt to find a solution because it is a symptom or result of multiple, contingent, and conflicting issues.
Environmental degradation, social and economic inequity, and terrorism are some of the classic wicked problems that we face in the twenty-first century. Designers often work on particular problems that comprise or contribute to a complex “wicked problem.”
However, an isolated design solution (or that of any discipline) arrived at through an established process will almost by definition make the problem worse.
Due to their complexity, wicked problems require the work of collaborative teams of people with a range of expertise over space and time.
Aprocess designedto address a wicked problemtypically has no definitive solution, but, can, at best, achieve incremental improvements to the situation.
In this context, the trans-disciplinary qualities of the design process can be and are used to enable and facilitate a range of disciplinary and professional experts (including designers) to work on the wicked problem together with the relevant public (Participatory Design).
The term has also more recently been adopted in interaction and software design to describe complex programming problems where a solution to one problem compromises other desired features of the software.